Review of AKA Cassius Clay

Introduction

AKA Cassius Clay is a 76-minute documentary made in 1970 about Muhammad Ali, and was no doubt released to coincide with the new “Ali” movie, starring Will Smith.

Video

Unfortunately the video quality is not all that good - the transfer seems to have been ported from VHS straight onto DVD. However, I can`t really complain all that much – I expected the interview and fight footage to be very grainy, and with specks and print marks all over. Yes it is poor, but more than watchable.

Presented in 4:3 format.

Audio

The 2.0 stereo soundtrack is very clear and both dialogue and sound effects are audible throughout. No subtitles are included.

Features

Only the original theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

Since the documentary was made so long ago, it only deals with the first ‘half’ of Ali’s career. Included is his rise to fame, gaining the Heavyweight Championship as Cassius Clay, his next few fights as Nation of Islam convert Muhammad Ali, and then his enforced retirement from boxing by the boxing bodies, when he conscientiously objected to being drafted into the Vietnam War. What is here is done well: apart from the cheesy music and narration, the footage is put together nicely with some great archive rolls of fights both as an amateur and professional. Other documentaries have the advantage of his later, greater fights however – for instance The Rumble in the Jungle against a seemingly invincible George Foreman, and his trilogy of wars against Joe Frazier.

Overall a good documentary for what it covers. Though presented sparsely on DVD, it`s worth buying if you can find it at a cheap price.